Maxillaria soconuscana Breedlove & D.Mally 1989 sect. Cucullatae Christenson 2013

Photo by © Eric Hunt

Common Name The Soconusca Maxillaria [refers to the Pacific coast in southern Chiapas]

Flower Size 1.2" [3 cm]

Found in southern Mexico and Guatemala in the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in evergreen cloud forests at elevations around 2225 meters as a small sized, cold growing epiphyte with oblong to elliptic, compressed, sulcate pseudobulbs enveloped basally by about 5, progressively larger, strongly conduplicate, concave, scarious, papery, brown, triangular, acute sheaths and carrying a single, linear-oblong, obtuse, apically emarginate and apiculate, dorsally carinate, basally conduplicate leaf that blooms in the fall and winter on a 2 to 5 per mature pseudobulb, ascending, to 8 to 12.8" [20 to 32 cm] long, 5 noded, single flowered inflorescence with somewhat imbricating or spaced, progressively larger towards the apex, conduplicate, cuculate, ovate, lanceolate, acuminate bracts and carrying a floral bract covering more than half the ovary.

Synonyms Camaridium soconuscanum (Breedlove & Mally) M.A.Blanco 2007; Psittacoglossum soconuscanum (Breedlove & Mally) Szlach. & Sitko 2012

References W3 Tropicos, Kew Monocot list , IPNI ; Icones Orchidacearum 5 - 6 Orchids of Mexico Part 2 - 3 Plate 619 Hagsater & Soto 2002 drawing fide; AOS Bulletin Vol 79 #9 2010 photo fide; Algunas Orquideas de Mexico Tomo 1 Suarez 2013 photo fide; Orchid Genera and Species in Guatemala Archila, Szlachchetko, Chiron, Lipinska, Mystkowska and Bertolini 2018

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